An Unexpected Friend? [Social/Merrilee]

She'd only ever seen the city in Endora's travel books, and even then, out of the pages of the book, the bustle of Rose Garden was just as she pictured it -alluring with the dazzle of colorful lacrima lights brightening up the streets.

It was a little unbecoming of her for her usual preferences to be there, though, where a large portion of the city's population flocked with little concern for the noise they generated. She admits that it was troubling at first to readjust her ears to accommodate the natural sounds that humans created on a whim, but the girl wouldn't dare consider it a sort of hindrance at all, in fact, it was almost endearing to see Rose Garden as it was and Merrilee opted to consider the noises as part of it's charm.

The young starling bundled her arms behind her, musing herself with the bright city lights and the enthusiastic banter of everyone as they passed her by. The crowds were ebbing back and forth at a daunting pace and with her current size, it appeared cumbersome to go against it's flow, lest she accidentally bump into someone and unintentionally ruin their mood. So for the past few minutes, Merrilee allowed herself to be 'carried' towards any sort of destination, finding herself in a number of amusing places such as toy shops, food stalls, and a cute little oddities shop that sold an assortment of curious-looking stuffed mice (taxonomy, the seller called it?) just down the corner. Though the process of making them honestly appalled her somewhat, the outcome made it easier to stomach it.

Evening rolled in quite quickly, and for her, seeing the dark sky seemed to replenish part of her energy and ultimately had her skipping through the spaces between the crowds, feeling her 'sisters' presences as twinkles of starlight dotted the midnight blue vastness above them. Surely now, she'd have realized that there was no clear objective in her mind, really, as she was purely driven by a wanderlust only befitting of a starling like her.

"I wonder if this place has any libraries..." she mumbled, staring up at the large bright signs that visibly dwarfed her childish form.

Her attention was then quickly directed to a large piece of glass that glimmered from the corner of her eye. Tilting her head back, she noticed several fluffy creatures whose tails whipped back and forth with a vibrancy as she drew near. They made a sound, and Merrilee almost felt like melting as she watched their little paws pat against the glass window. Amused as she was, she vaguely remembers Endora talking about a creature whose striking features matched that of the ones she was observing now. They were extremely popular among the humans as life-time companions, and she'd have always wondered of the creatures' amazing capability to remain loyal to a race of an entirely different orientation and culture.

The girl would giggle to herself silently, her eyes glossed over with fondness as one of the furry things licked the glass with a small, pink tongue. "...Could you be the so called 'puppies' Endora spoke of once, I wonder?"

To the normal, well-built human, perhaps the impact wouldn't mean any harm, but for a frail and air-headed pseudo-human like Merrilee, it was enough to knock her a balance off a little, her eyes going comically wide as her figure tumbled unceremoniously unto the cold pavement. She'd blink back at the man who she collided with, spotting a dark figure whose mop of black hair oddly reminded her of Endora as the lacrima lights shone a bright and endearing silver hue unto it.

The starling would simply brush off the action as an accident judging by his reaction, and what with her amazingly durable patience, it was hard to acquire any sort of rage from it. Merrilee stood back up on her legs with a smooth brushing motion evening out the wrinkles in her green coat and dusting the dirt that collected behind it.

"I'm okay..." she said, gently so, "And...yes, I like all sorts of fluffy and cute creatures, not just puppies." the girl tossed her attention back unto the glass window that stood beside her, a forlorn feeling of being barred from them lingering about in her thoughts, "There aren't many of their kind from where I come from, you see..."

She'd watch the strange human pass her his hand, his eyes expectant and patient under the still light of a nearby lamp post. The gesture would've initially appeared foreign and unbecoming for her if she hadn't been educated by Endora in the months prior, so that saved her a bit of face in terms of human ethics, regardless if she still viewed the process of exchanging hands being both curious and slightly austere. The starling took to Rowan's hand with a small smile, reaching for it with her dainty fingers and curling around it indefinitely, the shaking motion she ensued all but soft and gentle.

"Endora calls me Eirlys, so you can call me that too." she spoke, lifting her head to the commit to the notion of seeing eye-to-eye when shaking hands with a human, as the Seamstress had taught her so diligently back in her golden days. "It's very nice to make your acquaintance, mister Rowan."

Her proceeding action was to get up and dust herself, evening out the wrinkles in her dress and promptly checking her legs for any specks of dirt that may have gotten in the way. Then, just as she was about to check her coat, a disturbance ensued, one that prompted her attention with a pair of wide, sterling blue eyes glossing over the door that lead to the pet shop. Another human had bundled one puppy in his arms, cradling the creature gently before scurrying off. Odd as it was, she wondered briefly if he was merely in a hurry to gain one of his own.

However, it appeared that the circumstance had a much more important detail to it.

"Stop!" an old, wrinkly human would shout as his eyes hurriedly search the streets. "Thief! Give him back!"

With a tilt of her head, she'd watch the other, much older human huff with an urgency. She'd heard of that word before, and as she remembered, it wasn't anything good. Merrilee caught Rowan's stare with a hesitance, asking herself if he was thinking of the same thing before biting at a single, pink lip. Her legs willed her to move, and her heart was hammering vividly against her rib cage that each thump lead her to believe that she wanted to do it.

So...she did.

The starling broke into a sprint as she scurried to catch the stranger with the runaway puppy, briefly looking back to see if Rowan followed her trail, and would later continue to weave through the rushing crowds. It was a foolish act of heroism, maybe, to think that she'd catch him without resulting to her magic, but it was worth every fiber of her being to apprehend the man, accordingly to her voice of reason that was as loud as a siren at the back of her skull.

Notes:

In her months prior as a pseudo-human, the starling would have adapted to many varying displays of emotion, each specifically being an honest product of being exposed to a wide array of human actions. Though some were entirely pleasing, it was clear that there were others who existed on the far end of the spectrum, where negativity sprung about like wild fire. Admittedly, Merrilee was gracious to permit a more forgiving tone to her ways, but it wasn't uncommon for her to sport frustration if need be. Similarly, that particular event seemed to display a wonderful example of just how effective some human tendencies were on her, if not all.  

The starling turned a bend with a taut expression, her knuckles paling as she kept her head level through the crowds. Through a spiral of brief effort, a pulse of magic would fizzle through her skin, breaking through her childish disguise as if it were simply glass, cracking evenly over her arms and legs.

With a burst of starlight, the breeze would reveal a flutter of silvery pigtails and a dress of foreign material, tailored over to fit a larger figure whose golden eyes held no remnants of the little girl who stood in her place only mere seconds ago. Through a dark alley, she'd run after the thief, though it was slowly lighting up with her presence that gave off a faint white glow that had been the end result to her stunt, unveiling her true physique for the eyes to see. Coming to a yield at the end of the hall, she'd recognize the outline of the human she acquainted herself moments before, watching him corner the reckless thief before he slipped away again.

In a moment of hesitance, the starling wondered if it was wise to maneuver in such a cramped area. But with nothing to gain from reluctance, her better judgment were to settle on taking the offensive, even just for a tiny bit. The starling kicked at her heels, breezing forward in a hasty flying motion where two feather-white daggers curled in her grip.

Her objective was no less than hindering the shifty human's movements to a bare minimum, and it was possible, if Merrilee was decisive to hit him. Was her innate speed enough to handle the task? She wasn't sure....but all her trust seemed to push downward at her legs, a brief flash of purple whizzing past the space as she took chase, setting a keen, golden glare at her target's advancing form.

"Give him back!" came her voice, a slightly lower timbre in comparison to how her blue-haired counterpart spoke.

Notes: